Illusion
by TehAmazingFey
Summary: Link nearly loses to himself in the Water Temple. Hints of Dark LinkxLink.


Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own LoZ, wish I did, everyone would be......much more fruity. 3 If that's possible.

It's a one shot as it stands, if I get many reviews I might continue it.)

It was a temple underwater, and it was for that very moment that Link had stood in front of the door that had just slammed closed with bars, staring at the single, dead tree in the middle of what seemed to be a misty lake. The sound and action of said bars that meant one thing-- there was something in this room that he was to defeat before it would open again, and.......as to just what he had to defeat he was somewhat lost. Other than that tree (which he really didn't know just how it was ....well, in a temple...under water), he could see nothing but maybe a bit of ruin that would do him no good, and...for a moment, he was lost, stepping towards the tree-- running past it and to the opposite side, staring at the door there as well. Yep, more bars.

But it was when he turned and took a few steps, that Navi immediately grew interested in something by the tree, and quirking a brow the silent hero moved forward until he caught sight of it, staring for a moment in simple wonder. His own shadow? ....How was it standing upright and....._smirking_ so cockily like that? He frowned, taking his sword in hand, but the moment he actually targeted the other, the shadow surged forward, and to Link's utter horror, each time he waved the sword it was easily knocked back and blocked. This shadow, this creature, this ......this monster knew every move he did. Link hesitantly wondered if he knew more, despite the fact every action the shadow made was something he knew and could do....had done before.

His desperation grew as he moved to other means-- but every arrow he shot was dodged in a roll. Every deku nut he cracked had no effect. Every attack he aimed with the hookshot was easily evaded. Even bombs when held to the point it damaged himself were just simply side stepped or back rolled, making Link seem the fool for making them explode right in front of him. And even though his shadow made no sound, Link could _feel_ the other was laughing at him. _Mocking_ him.

Then the attacks came.

He was not expected to be forced back-- slashed and stabbed and attacked with just the brutality and strength that he himself showed every day. It was executed with a strength and speed that he only knew first hand through use, and his shield vibrated violently with each blow slammed against the Hylian forged metal, and even with Navi circling the shadow's head, it offered his enemy no distraction from his task. Link, for one of the first times in his life, felt true terror.....fear for his life when a particularly vicious blow knocked his shield from him, leaving him with only forced and attemptedly quick strikes and defense with his sword, and still he could not land one hit. It did not take his dark clone very long to disarm him of his sword, which flew several feet.....and seemed to disappear beneath the watery mist.

"No!" Was all he could cry, blue eyes wide as he glanced back to his dark self-- the infuriating smirk still planted over the other Link's features. Quickly enough he reached for his bag-- determined to try and use one of the other weapons. One by one, the dark impostor disarmed him of each one-- Din's Fire cast off near the tree somewhere. His Bomb Bag, lost to the watery depths. His bow and quiver tossed aside by the fake Link's blow, his hookshot lost. Even the Ocarina was left to plunge into the water.

His opponent's temper was growing short, and Link realized even on his own that each attempt he made at fighting back was growing weaker-- more pathetic than the last. But it was this growing desperation that took him off guard, and within a manner of minutes he was knocked to the ground-- hitting the stonework of the door that he had been intent on going through when he's entered the room. Now....his only priority was escaping alive, unhumiliated, and undamaged. A sword pressed rather firmly to his neck, though with an impressive amount of aim, the shadow dropped to his knees, straddling the young warrior's thighs. His red eyes glowed with a mixture of sadism and mischief, and with that one powerful arm he held the sword fast to Link's skin, any move dangerous with how deeply it was pressed against the flesh.

It made Link accidentally cut himself when he jerked after feeling a too-familiar gloved hand slowly sliding his tunic up from the side. Even with the innocence of a person who had slept seven years from the time when he was a child, Link knew the difference between the good touches and the bad.

What the shadow was doing to him was very, very bad. It didn't stop, hiking the edge of his tunic all the way to his hip bone, exposing more thigh and front than Link had ever wanted, all the way to the beginning of his leggings, when the dark shadow grinned more deviously as cold fingers worked their way under the elastic. It was when the fingers properly hooked into the fabric and began to pull down that Link truly realized what the other intended to do.

_"No!"_ The blond repeated, voice strained as it came out as a much more desperate yell from the Hero of Time as his fingers searched for everything in the misty waters at his side, his back resting against the ledge of the stones that lead do the door. It was then his hand found it and wrapped around it-- the Megaton Hammer! ....why hadn't he thought of it before then?! But it was only when he saw himself lean forward, and felt the cold softness of dark lips pressing against his own that he snapped out of the situation, rising the handle of the hammer to butt viciously into the others chest.

It was the first sound he'd heard the other him make-- a small grunt, perhaps of force and anger, as he was pushed back. He slid into the water, only to reappear to the blond's left. Link was on his feet again by that moment though, and was amazed to find that the shadow.....couldn't apparently block his hammer. Perhaps it was because he could not mimic it, could not dodge it properly, or simply had been frustrated enough in his efforts that he was at a loss with how to deal with the situation. Whatever it happened to be, Link took advantage of it.

It did not stop him from being shaken by the experience when he destroyed his dark self. His shoulders were shaking still when the misty lake and tree faded, leaving only a dusty, humid room in the Water Temple. All an illusion.

He tried to tell himself that as Navi settled uncomfortably in his hat, and Link was left to recollect his items, silently stowing them away as he tried to wipe the memory of the incident from his mind. She said nothing and he said nothing, the awkward silence permeating the air as neither seemed willing to acknowledge what had almost happened in that battle.

Just an illusion.


End file.
